Support your paper for pennies a day

Published: Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 4:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 4:58 p.m.

When the news broke that The Dispatch will begin charging for its online services, I knew that we were in for some upset people. It's understandable. When you find out you will have to pay for something that has previously been free, it can irritate you. I fully expected people to choose not to pay to read online, although if you are a print subscriber this new policy does not affect you at all. In fact, you are given a free online subscription.

We are talking about people who get their news online, which let's face it, is more and more people these days. I fully expected some people to decide it isn't worth the $9.95 for 30 days of unlimited news, sports, entertainment, calendar events, weddings, obituaries, advertisement and more. There are so many free ways for people to get their news online, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any of the other national news organizations websites.

I expected people to be upset, but I didn't expect the personal attacks and the cold-blooded comments. Whenever I view the comments on our Facebook page, I try to remember that people are looking at things from a different viewpoint. I try not to take any criticisms personally, although it can be difficult at times. But when I start hearing people openly wishing for my coworkers and me to be out of a job or claiming blanket greed on behalf of the entire staff as a factor in decisions, I can't help but get a little indignant.

I understand asking people to pay for something they have taken advantage of for many years can be upsetting, but you can't say you don't understand why we would need to. People find out about community news in mere seconds these days, but need I remind you that not everything you read on social media is fact. Take the recent Don Juan's rumor that was totally false, yet many people believed it. It is stories like this where you need a reputable news person (hemhem) to contact the owner, to contact the health officials and to let it be known what is actually happening.

So when you want to know why the courthouse is suddenly ensconced in scaffolding or when the Square is going to be closed for street repair, you turn to real journalism. You may not like the news, but you know that someone actually spoke to another person in authority to verify what he or she wrote. That we are sitting through seven-hour board meetings until 11 p.m. to let people know that a gun range has been permitted and why.

But it is not just reporters who make a paper, it is the photographer who has to work split shifts because he has to shoot a track meet in the evening the same day there is a breakfast meeting. There are sports writers who work in the freezing cold and the sweltering heat. There are editors who have to check behind flustered writers to see if they are using their possessive pronouns correctly and paginators who have to fit all the words we write on a page every day. There are the people who take the advertisements, the ladies who answer the phones and the people who make sure there is a paper in your driveway every day. There are the weddings, the obituaries, the community calendar and the temperamental columnists to deal with. Then there are the editors and publisher who get blamed for everything regardless of whether they deserve it.

And for all of this we are asking for 33 cents a day. If you put all of us together, that is less than a penny apiece. . . A DAY!

So if people choose not to pay for an online subscription, it is their choice. But keep your cruel comments to yourself. I know it is common for unscrupulous people to viciously attack others online for no other reason than just to be nasty, and many of them do it just to get a rise out of people. For some reason they think being a bully is hilariously funny.

But for the rest of you out there who have decent manners, can't you understand when a company needs to raise its rates to keep competitive? I am not asking you to change your opinion, but understand the reasoning behind the choice. For all the work we do, aren't we worth 10 bucks a month?

Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.

<p>When the news broke that The Dispatch will begin charging for its online services, I knew that we were in for some upset people. It's understandable. When you find out you will have to pay for something that has previously been free, it can irritate you. I fully expected people to choose not to pay to read online, although if you are a print subscriber this new policy does not affect you at all. In fact, you are given a free online subscription. </p><p>We are talking about people who get their news online, which let's face it, is more and more people these days. I fully expected some people to decide it isn't worth the $9.95 for 30 days of unlimited news, sports, entertainment, calendar events, weddings, obituaries, advertisement and more. There are so many free ways for people to get their news online, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any of the other national news organizations websites. </p><p>I expected people to be upset, but I didn't expect the personal attacks and the cold-blooded comments. Whenever I view the comments on our Facebook page, I try to remember that people are looking at things from a different viewpoint. I try not to take any criticisms personally, although it can be difficult at times. But when I start hearing people openly wishing for my coworkers and me to be out of a job or claiming blanket greed on behalf of the entire staff as a factor in decisions, I can't help but get a little indignant.</p><p>I understand asking people to pay for something they have taken advantage of for many years can be upsetting, but you can't say you don't understand why we would need to. People find out about community news in mere seconds these days, but need I remind you that not everything you read on social media is fact. Take the recent Don Juan's rumor that was totally false, yet many people believed it. It is stories like this where you need a reputable news person (hemhem) to contact the owner, to contact the health officials and to let it be known what is actually happening. </p><p>So when you want to know why the courthouse is suddenly ensconced in scaffolding or when the Square is going to be closed for street repair, you turn to real journalism. You may not like the news, but you know that someone actually spoke to another person in authority to verify what he or she wrote. That we are sitting through seven-hour board meetings until 11 p.m. to let people know that a gun range has been permitted and why.</p><p>But it is not just reporters who make a paper, it is the photographer who has to work split shifts because he has to shoot a track meet in the evening the same day there is a breakfast meeting. There are sports writers who work in the freezing cold and the sweltering heat. There are editors who have to check behind flustered writers to see if they are using their possessive pronouns correctly and paginators who have to fit all the words we write on a page every day. There are the people who take the advertisements, the ladies who answer the phones and the people who make sure there is a paper in your driveway every day. There are the weddings, the obituaries, the community calendar and the temperamental columnists to deal with. Then there are the editors and publisher who get blamed for everything regardless of whether they deserve it.</p><p>And for all of this we are asking for 33 cents a day. If you put all of us together, that is less than a penny apiece. . . A DAY!</p><p>So if people choose not to pay for an online subscription, it is their choice. But keep your cruel comments to yourself. I know it is common for unscrupulous people to viciously attack others online for no other reason than just to be nasty, and many of them do it just to get a rise out of people. For some reason they think being a bully is hilariously funny. </p><p>But for the rest of you out there who have decent manners, can't you understand when a company needs to raise its rates to keep competitive? I am not asking you to change your opinion, but understand the reasoning behind the choice. For all the work we do, aren't we worth 10 bucks a month? </p><p>Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.</p>